


Jump Ball

by mmmdraco



Category: Slam Dunk
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-16
Updated: 2012-07-16
Packaged: 2017-11-10 02:02:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/461011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmdraco/pseuds/mmmdraco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hanamichi was finally hearing the words he'd been longing to hear for over a year now: "Sakuragi-kun... I think I'm in love with you." The only problem was... they were coming out of the wrong mouth!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jump Ball

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I mean no harm, I have no money... Stuff like that. Yeah.

Hanamichi was finally hearing the words he'd been longing to hear for over a year now: "Sakuragi-kun... I think I'm in love with you." The only problem was... they were coming out of the wrong mouth!

"Rukawa, you asshole! Who do you think you're saying?"

Rukawa sulked in the corner between the wall and the bleachers. "I'm just telling you the truth, you dumbass. I figured you'd like to hear it that way."

"Where did this come from? I mean, I know I'm a hunky, studly, incredibly impressive specimen of man, but what's with you? Did you hit your head while trying to dunk like I do?"

"No. If I'd tried that, I would have left a face print on the board." He pointed to an old bloody smear on the backboard for emphasis. "I lost something precious to me and it made me sit back and think about what else was precious to me."

Hanamichi pointed to himself. "Me? Precious? Hahaha haha! I'm more precious than silver and gold!"

Rukawa had a serious look in his eyes when he spoke next. "You're more precious to me than anything, Sakuragi-kun -- even more than my bicycle."

"Huh? So, your bicycle broke?"

Rukawa sniffled slightly. "Yes. And the shop said they can't fix her this time. I don't know what I'm going to do."

Hanamichi furrowed his brow slightly. "Walk to school?"

Rukawa suddenly grabbed Hanamichi by the shoulders. "It's not the same!" He let go and leaned against the wall again. "So, will you walk me to school tomorrow?"

Hanamichi's eyes went wide. "You just said you didn't want to alk because it isn't the same!"

Rukawa shamelessly continued to lean dramatically against the wall, gazing at a spot somewhere above Hanamichi's shoulder. "But, if I'm with you, I won't feel the pain as much."

Hanamichi sighed loudly. "Well, if I'm the only guy who can do it... then I should just let you have to walk all alone! Hahaha!"

Rukawa grasped at the hem of Hanamichi's shirt. "Please. Don't you feel anything for me at all?"

Hanamichi pulled his shirt away and gazed at Rukawa, knowing now that he was serious. Rukawa *never* said 'please'. "Ask me again after practice," Hanamichi said, conveniently forgetting that it *was* after practice as Rukawa had been standing outside of the locker room waiting for him, his dark hair still damp. Hanamichi's hair was dry, but short hair rarely took lone to become so. He simply took longer than everyone else because he liked the never-ending hot water. He was always the last person out of the locker room and Rukawa had taken advantage of that fact. Now, though, Rukawa only stared at him.

Sakuragi didn't realize until he was home that he had made a mistake. However, he couldn't very well go back and find Rukawa, regardless of the fact that he'd look foolish. He couldn't be certain that Rukawa would be there... and he still wasn't sure which answer to give.

He thought about it well after the moon had reached it's precipice in the sky. But, in the end, he realized that he'd known the answer all along. He set his alarm clock and went to bed, pulling his pillow this way and that until he finally settled down for the night.

In the morning, at the clock's chime, Hanamichi crawled out of bed and got ready. He had been about to grab something to eat before heading out the door, but changed his mind -- instead opening up the closet door and retrieving an item he hadn't used since his early days in middle school.

The look on Rukawa's face when Hanamichi showed up on a bicycle with two bags hanging from the handlebars had been worth getting up early. As Rukawa approached (he'd just been heading out the door to leave on his own when Hanamichi arrived) he wiped the sleep from his eyes. "What's the meaning of this?"

Hanamichi dug into one of the bags and produced a croissant wrapped in plastic. He dug into the other and unearthed a carton of milk. "Here. Breakfast. I know you never eat."

Rukawa took them and clutched them to his chest. "I thought you hated me."

Hanamichi took a long sip of his own milk. "I thought I did, too. But, I've been wrong once or twice before. One more time couldn't hurt." He unwrapped his own croissant and took a small bite. "I just thought about it a lot last night. We're rivals of a sort in basketball because I'm incredible and, well, maybe so are you. I considered you a rival for Haruko-chan's love -- but you'll obviously never got for her -- and she'll obviously never go for me, no matter how things happen. And, I thought about us being, well, together... and I can honestly say that I don't hate the idea. I still don't know why you acted like you did yesterday... but I'm willing to give this a shot. The worst that could happen is that I do end up hating you. If that happened, I'd probably still treat you the exact same way."

Rukawa nodded and opened his milk. "I tend to get a little emotional after a hot shower. I've waited for you about six times now, but this was the first time I waited long enough."

Hanamichi laughed and Rukawa smiled at the timbre of it when he wasn't being obnoxious. "Hurry up and eat. It'll be hard to do that *and* hang on to me at the same time."

Rukawa slung his duffel bag a little further onto his back and sat down on the little rack on the back of Hanamichi's bicycle. "I'm trying my hardest not to kiss you right now."

Hanamichi cocked his kickstand and got off the bike, turning to look at Rukawa. "Whoever heard of boyfriends who didn't kiss?" He smiled and brushed a crumb off of Rukawa's bottom lip. He began to close the gap between them when Rukawa stood up a bit and caught Hanamichi's lips with his own. The kiss was soft and buttery and tasted of milk to both parties and was over shortly after it began.

Rukawa took the last sip of his milk. "I don't want this to go too fast, though."

Hanamichi grinned wildly. "We'll take it as it comes."

Hanamichi rode to school with Rukawa holding on to his waist the whole while. They arrived at school almost fifteen minutes early and both headed up to the roof where they lay down next to each other to take a nap. They would miss first and second period because of it, but they'd wake up in such a way that it would be a hard decision to make about whether to go to class or to remain in each other's arms.

They both had a feeling that practice, among other things, was going to get more interesting from that moment on.


End file.
